Top News:
Richard Sandomir / New York Times:
Analyst's Role With YES Shifts away From the Studio — David Justice, who was cited in the Mitchell report as having purchased human growth hormone, will no longer be a studio analyst for the YES Network but will contribute columns and participate in chats on the channel's Web site.
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Bill Sanderson / New York Post:
SIGN-ING UP — NAME SET AT YANKS' NEW PARK — The House That Jeter Built has a new sign that unmistakably promises great baseball will be played there. — The words “Yankee Stadium,” solidly etched in gold-leafed stone, were hoisted by crane onto the team's new South Bronx home this week.
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Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Around the horn: Middle infielders — Reyes, Castillo are catalysts on offense, standouts on defense … By the end of last season, the middle of the Mets' infield was limping, literally and figuratively. Luis Castillo, short of two months with the team, was hobbled by a balky knee …
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Mark Hale / New York Post:
METS GIVE VALENTIN 2ND LOOK — The Mets will be bringing back Jose Valentin, the player's agent told The Post last night, giving him a minor league deal with an invitation to major league spring training. — Valentin, 38, was a huge contributor for the Mets in 2006, hitting .271 with 18 homers as their second baseman.
Carrie Muskat / MLB.com:
Cubs bring Lieber back for another run — Veteran won 20 games for club in 2001, signs one-year deal — CHICAGO — Jon Lieber is back with the Cubs. — The free agent pitcher, who was the last member of the Cubs to win 20 games, signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract on Wednesday with the team.
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Chicagosports / Hardball:
Cubs sign Lieber — The Cubs signed right-handed pitcher Jon Lieber to a one-year, $3.5 million deal on Wednesday with around $4 million in incentives based on games started and innings pitched. — “It gives us more depth with our starting pitching,” manager Lou Piniella said.
Discussion:
GoatRiders of the Apocalypse
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Encouraging prospects — Rookie program shows Sox' stock is on the rise — Clay Buchholz (left) and Dustin Richardson hope they're in the running to make the Red Sox. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff) — When you looked out at the football field in the indoor bubble at Boston College's …
Paul Lukas / Uni Watch:
The Worst Form of Government, Except for All the Others (Probably) — Apparently they were voting for something or other in Michigan yesterday. But the bigger election story came, as election stories so often do, from Washington. Only this one had nothing to do with the White House.
Joe Frisaro / MLB.com:
Marlins sign hurler Hendrickson — Veteran lefty adds experience to young Florida rotation — MIAMI — The Marlins have added a veteran presence to their young pitching staff. — On Wednesday afternoon, the team announced the signing of free-agent left-handed pitcher Mark Hendrickson to a one-year deal.
Discussion:
Rays Anatomy
Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Cubs Top 11 Prospects — Four-Star Prospects — Three-Star Prospects — Two-Star Prospects — Just Missing: Kevin Hart, RHP; Chris Huseby, RHP; Larry Suarez, RHP — 1. Geovany Soto, C — Drafted: 11th round, 2007, American Military Academy (PR)
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Associated Press:
Okajima looking forward to homecoming — TOKYO - Boston reliever Hideki Okajima [stats] is looking forward to starting the 2008 season on home soil — even though he'll be thousands of miles from Fenway Park [map]. — Okajima was in Tokyo on Wednesday promoting Boston's season-opening series …
Aaron / AaronGleeman.com:
Twins Notes: Money, Money, Money, and Money — Over at MLB.com, Kelly Thesier reports that “so far it appears no progress has been made” in the Twins' attempt to lock Justin Morneau up to a long-term contract extension. Morneau told Thesier that he's “looking for a long-term deal …
Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Youkilis, two others file for arbitration — Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis and relief pitchers Javier Lopez and Kyle Snyder are among the 110 big-league players who have filed for salary arbitration, according to information released by the players' union.
Discussion:
SOX & Dawgs
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Rockies back to business — Owner unsure NL champs can keep Holliday long term — In the 11 weeks since the lights faded to black in the World Series, putting to bed one of the most stirring sports stories in Colorado history, Rockies owner Dick Monfort has been a popular target in public.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
